August 8, 2020

201 pounds of pork from Mexico seized at US border in Laredo

US bordher officers and agriculture specialists recently seized pork products hidden in the engine compartment of a vehicle travelling from Mexico.

The Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a media release on Tuesday, Aug. 4, that 201 pounds of pork were discovered last July 29 in a 1980 Ford F-150 pickup truck driven by a 30-year-old male US citizen at the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge in Laredo, Texas.

"Preventing the entry of harmful agricultural products is an integral aspect of America's Frontline", said Field Operations Director Randy Howe at Laredo Field Office said after the confiscation of the contraband.

The vehicle was sent in for a non-intrusive inspection when the driver was unable to open the hood, where the undeclared and prohibited pork products were concealed. They were discovered following an agriculture canine and non-intrusive imaging system examination.

The man was slapped with a $1,000 civil penalty for the undeclared, prohibited product.

While Mexico is considered free of classical swine fever, pork importations need to meet special requirements. A traveller attempting to bring in prohibited agricultural items face a fine ranging from $300 to $1,000.

Packs of prohibited pork seized by CBP officers and agriculture